Morphology and typology of China correspondents: A habitus-based approach

Abstract

Drawing on Bourdieu’s field theory and his key construct of habitus, this study examines the primary and secondary habitus of China correspondents, and proposes a habitus-based typology of foreign correspondents. Theoretically, this article attempts to advance the construct of habitus as a conceptual framework for journalism and media studies. Empirically, based on a survey analysis of 101 journalists and in-depth interviews with 20 journalists, this article maps out the primary and secondary habitus of China correspondents, and further analyzes how different habitus lands China correspondents into a typology of four: Spiralists, Sporadics, Sinophiles, and Sinojournos. These different positions, as the article argues, shape different strategies and practices of China correspondents – either to maintain or to challenge the existing power structure in the field of China correspondence. The implications of these results are discussed.